Compensated pipe expansion joint



MarchZO, 1951 J. w. MGcAusLAND 2,545,701

coNPENsATED PIPE EXPANSION JOINT Filed Nov. 29, 194s Fil.

- Patented Mar. 220, 1951 UNITED STATE-s COMPENSA'IYED mT.'EN'FP01-:Flat l 1 u I A.

John Woods McCausland, llnic'ago;Ill.,-assignonv to Universal Oil Products Company, Chicago,

l v Ill., acorporation of Delaware I y l l.' Application November 29, 1946,--Serial No.7l 3,181

` ionen. (o1.first v-Q'oj"'v that 'the' end pressure thrusts aresubStantially counteracted andanchoring or constraining pipe support means may Vbe substantially elinriinated'l-` '..Tlie thrustcqualizing apparatus may comprise various forms; however, broadly, this inventionf comprises in combination, a iluid pressure actu# ated'expansible vvthrust producing means, means supplying theiluijd pressure of said conduit to said provide pipes, ducts, 'and the like, With one or Y more expansion joints to accommodate the pipe growth or displacement. Expansion joints may beiof,r either the slip-joint type or of the corrugated bellows-type, and they in turn may be of various designsand forms of construction, depending upon the' longitudinal and horizontal displacement requirements. For example, the

thrust producing means, linkage connecting'said1 expan'sible lthrust. producing means Ato said 'con-- duit, Awithsaid linkage being constructed Vand are: ranged to apply a-force to Vsaid conduit which counteractsjthe direct internal pressure thrusts.

onthe' conduit.

Thefmovable thrust'v producing means itself, is

' preferably a bellows, a cylinder and piston, or the temperature, the magnitude 'ofthe internal vpresi Tend thrustv' dependsn the, internal pressurev and the sizelof thel conduit, being numerically A equal to the internalY pressure multiplied vbythe transverse areaof the expansion joint. In usual installations, the pipe oriconduitfmust beanlfiorczd at suitablepoints to overcome this 'end thrust on the pipe'and to'hold the pipe in place. In many instances, the installation Aof a particular pipe is such that it isvery diiiicult to provide these iiXed anchorage points, whilelin vstill ether c'ases, th e magnitude of the end thrusts for elaborate and-expensive supporting structures.

like, which is a pressure actuated' device. vIn a. preferable embodiment 'two or more bellows units are used inthe thrust equalizing apparatus in ordertos'impliiy the mechanical linkage means and to more easily apply a uniforni forceeXte'r-'- nally to the conduit which substantially equals and lopposes the internal pressure thrusts within the. conduit. '^Howe`ver',"with suitable linkage ver connecting. means, wherein a mechanical advan. tageis obtained,[a single bellows or cylinder and piston unit may be used to substantially counterff; act the endlthr'ust. on aconduit'. l I, Reference'to thel accompanying drawing and the Jfollowing description .thereof will serve to', incre v,clearly illustrate the construction and method of operation 'of' various vforms offth thrust equalizing apparatus. 'Fi'gure rl of 'the drawing is an elevation vi'evifoi afpipe having an expansion joint therein and one form "of the'thrustvequalizing apparatus of this is afprincipai object or this invention to providemeans for counteracting`- the internal pressure thrusts on a conduit; `having an expan-` sionnjointftherein','regardless of variations in the pressurewithin the pipe. ,A isalso a n' obj`ectI of this .invention to provide thrust equaliaing apparatus which is linked to a cpnrduit on, eachside'oi the expansion joint such invention. Figure?L of thedrawng isa sectional plan View through the conduit and the thrust equalizing de.- yice 4as indicated by line 2-2. of Figure l. Figure 3 of lthe .draWingillustrates diagrammatically a' second form ofthe thrust equalizing device. f f

Figure 4 of the drawing illustrates still another `form ofthe'thrust equalizing device with a special large pipesmay'be very greatand. thereby require method for mounting the same which provides a mechanicaladvantage or lever action that. perf mits the use of aller thrust counteracting units. L Referring now to Figures land 2 of the draw"- ing, there is shown conduit l having mounted therein expansion joint 2. Spaced uniformly 2,545,voi 52. .j'

3 ders. Connecting between the conduit I and each of the bellows units 3 is an equalizing tube 4. Each of the tubes 4 supply a pressure to each of the bellows 3 which is substantially equal to the internal pressure within the conduit I, thus, thrusts may be created within each of the thrust producing means which are proportional to the end thrust within the conduit. At each bellows' unit 3, there is a pair of rods or yokes 5 and 5' that in turn connect with brackets 6 and 6. The brackets 6 and 6 are attached to the conduit I with one set on one side of the expansion joint 2 and the other on the opposite side of the joint. Each of the yokes 5 connects between the lower ends of the bellows 3 and the upper brackets 6, while each of the yokes 5 connect between each of the upper ends of bellows 3 and the lower set of brackets 6. Therefore, by this arrangement it may be seen that the bellows operate to counteract the internal pressure thrust which is imposed on the conduit I because of the expansion joint 2. By way of further explanation, when there is a superatmospheric pressure within conduit I, the same pressure is provided at each of the bellows 3 and the pressure thrusts from each of the units 3 operates to pull the joint together with a force proportional to the pressure in the joint 2 which tends to push apart the separated portions of the conduit f. It is of course necessary in this arrangement to space the bellows units uniformly around th Conduit, and to p'l'O- vide a sufficient number of small bellows or small bellows area having a total transverse area equal to the transverse area of the expansion joint 2', when it is desired to provide an equali'zing counteracting force. The yoke members 5 and 5" are indicated as being connected to the brackets 6 and 6 by means of bolts 1, however, other forms of attachment may be used for connecting the the bellows members with the brackets B and 8. Also, it is not intended to limit this invention to the form of yokes that are illustrated, for the form and design of yokes may be varied with the pressure and thrust requirements'. Four bellows units :sv are indicated in Figures 1 and` 2' of the drawing; however, two or more may be use-d to eiiect a uniform counteracting thrust. Obviously, the greater the number of bellows units, the smaller they may be individually, to provide a total area substantially equal to that of the pipe expansion joint.' In Figure 3 of the drawing, there is shown dlagraminatically a portion of a conduit 8, having an expansion joint 9, with accompanying thrust producing means of a somewhat dinerent form. "Ihe thrust producing device comprises` a cylinder IU, an internal sliding piston I I, a supporting rod -I2 and a connecting rod I3 which connects with piston I I and passes through theY end of. the cylinder IU. A packing gland I4 at the lower end ofy cylinder housing I provides means for passing the piston connecting rod I3 therethrough. An equalizing tube I is connected between the conduit 8 and the lower end of the cylinder housing IU while an exhaust outlet I5 provldes means for admitting or discharging air to the upper portion of the cylinder I. The supporting rod l2 connects with the conduit 3' by means' of a bracket Il while the rod l3 connectwith movable piston I I is attached to the ldll't by Indall Of the IOWG'IY biaoket I8. Each of the rods are connected with the brackets by ijeans of bolts IS, or other suitable means oi' connection'.

In the operation of the form of the equalizing device, the equalizing tube I5 supplies the pipe pressure to the lower end of the cylinder I0, below piston II. Thus, each of the cylinders and pistons provide a force which counteracts the thrust on the conduit caused by the expansion jointr As indicated in Figures l and 2, a plurality of the pis-ton and cylinderV units equally spaced around the conduit 8 will provide a counteracting force which may be made to substantially equal the internal pressure thrust on the conduit, assuming that the total cross sectional area of the individual units is made equal to that of the transverse 'area through the expansion In Figure 4 of the drawing, there is shown still another forniof the device wherein the connecting means to a conduit 2U, having an expansion joint 2l, provides a leverage action in opposing the internal pressure thrust on the pipe or conduit 2b. Each of the expansible thrust producing units 22 are spaced from the conduit at a distance which is somewhat greater than that indicated in the previously described forms, such that a mechanical advantage may be obtained by the` thrusts produced from each orv the expansible units 2z'. Lever bars 23 and 23' connect opposite ends of the thrust producing unit with the conduit, by means of pivot supports 24 and 24' attached to the former, and brackets 25 and 25' attached to the latter. The 'brackets 25 and 25* are' attached to the conduit 20 on opposite sides of the expansion joint 2l. A fulcrum bar 2'6 con'- nects between the two lever bars 23' and 23" and is pivotly connected thereto. Each oiv the lever bars are also pivotly connected at their respective ends to connecting brackets from the conduit and the connecting supports at the movable thrust producing units. As in other` forins of the apparatus, an equalizing tube 21 supplies nuid pressure from the conduit to the inside of the bellows or other type of movable member 22. Thus, in operation, the units 22: win effect thrusts which are proportional to variations in pressure within j the conduit 20' and the mechanical linkage arrangement is such that a force is applied externally to the conduit at each of thel individual units, which counteracts the internal pressure thrusts on the conduit due to the expansion joint This particular form of the apparatus pro'- vides a method of reducing the size of each of the individual expansible units 22 since the fulcruin bar 26 may be located close to the pipe joint, at a point to provide a leverage action which if desired may electa considerable mechanical advantage. In any" particularthrust equalizing apparatus of this embodiment, the diameter of` the thrust producing bellows or cylinder 2.2 will be calculated to take into account the mechanical advantage which is obtained by the leverage action. n It maybe noted in reference to Figures 3 and 4 of the drawing, that while only a single lthrust producing unit and linkage arrangement is shown for each, it is contemplated that two or more thrust producing units are to be provided for a preferable embodiment of a thrust equalizing apparatus in order that a substantially uniform count'eracting force may be effected on each portion of the conduit to counteract the end thrust on the conduit from its internal presure, or al.- ternately, that asystem of levers may be provided to transmit the thrust of' a single thrust producing unit to the conduit at several spaced points around its periphery. Bellows or corrugated type expansion joints are indicated in each of the gures, however, it should be understood that the improved thrust equalizing apparatus of this invention is not limited to any particular form or type of expansion joint. Still further, it may be pointed out that this invention should not be limited to the exact forms of linkage and connections which have been illustrated, for obviously somewhat diiTerent forms of bracketing and linkage may be devised and be within the scope of this invention.

I claim as my invention:

A thrust equalizing apparatus for a conduit having an expansion jointtherein, comprisingL in combination a bracket secured tosaid conduit on each side of said expansion joint, a substantially pressure tight piston and cylinder unit mounted between said brackets, a pressure supplying tube between said conduit and the cylinder of said unit, a rod-like connecting member between said REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 853,964 Doolittle May 21, 1907 853,974 Hayden May 21, 1907 2,314,776 Dittus Mar. 23, 1943 2,348,833 Miller May 16, 1944 

